Repair - Ripped out awning so patching holes & replace

[wstcoaster07]

As mentioned in another thread, I joined the club of people who thought they could fit around a tree and could not. Long story short I pulled the awning off the side of my new 2800BH. On the plus side the location we made it to in the end was beautiful and secluded. We kept our cool and did not get overly upset. Chopped down a couple limbs to get out of the situation and still ended up having a good day out in the sun. Best part is our 3 year old didnt even realize it was a "bad day" and was smiles just cause we were camping. Anyway, on to the repair thread...

I was impatient since I have to head out of town next weekend for 2 weeks. I wanted to fill the holes so that I didn't have to worry about water intrusion if it rains while gone, and I can just drill out the holes when I get the new awning. So, I filled the holes with "Bondo Glass" which seems pretty dang strong. I have to admit I could have done a better job with it but I hope what I did is "good enough" (I know, even I realize this already sounds bad).


I sanded down the area around the holes as much as I could stand with medium grit sand paper. This did not take it down to the wood behind the fiberglass (error #1 ?) Once I cleaned the area I then filled the holes as best I could with my finger pushing in the Bondo Glass mixture before it hardened. 20 minute later I sanded the area with fine grit paper and the hole looks filled (see pic). I did this for total of 8 screw holes (2 middle and 2 bottom screws from both front and back old awning arms) the top 4 screws on each arm did not pull out, I can only guess because they are in to metal frame maybe. The ones that did rip out appear to be sunk just in to the siding since all I see is foam through the holes (before patch). The other fiberglass patch was a puncture about the size of a dime that I made from another branch.... (yeah, fun trip haha)

Plan moving forward: I was going to just drill a pilot hole through each fiberglass repair hole and then install the new awning in the existing holes. I bought some 1/4x1" screws which seem to match the ones from the old awning. I also bought some 5/16x1" lag screws in case I want to use a sliiiiiightly larger screw than the ones I ripped out.

Question 1: Do you think I need to use the 5//16th screws next time or did the Bondo Glass add enough support that I should just use the 1/4" ones that will most likely come with the matching awning
Question 2: Was my patch process so bad that I need to just drill it all out and start over?
Question 3: Does the fiberglass fill chemically bind to the other fiberglass around it or did I not sand it down enough for it to leach in and bond?
Question 4: Now that I need a new awning setup anyway, is there a better quality one I should look at or stick with the Dometic one that GD uses on the Imagine line? (It seems like a pretty nice one to me)


The high note was that we kept our cool and just got to work staying positive even though this is going to be $$$. In the end the damage was done, so we tried to just move on.

[wstcoaster07]

[TucsonJim]

So sorry about your "bad day". I'm not sure about the repair method. But if it were me, I'd leave the awing off. I rarely use mine. Every time I've tried putting it out, the wind picks up and I worry about damage. We probably haven't used ours in over a year. If we want shade now, we carry two 13 x 13 pop up canopies. They are much more stable in the wind, and easier to position for shade. And for less than $175, they are MUCH less expensive than a new awning. Here's a link to the Coleman version we use.

Coleman Pop-Up Shelter

Jim

[Richter]

These are also available, seasonally, at Costco. I believe that they are a little less, there. You just need to be a member or know someone who is.

[Ditchdigger]

I feel for you. I have had my troubles with awnings too, one ripped off my first 5er going around a corner, one with the wind, and one a encounter with a telephone pole, so I feel for you.

[wstcoaster07]

Thanks for the kind words for such a bonehead mistake. Still early in the purchase stage but so far the 2 people I have heard from are at 2300 for all of the parts. Higher than I expected but still looking at a couple dealers.
Does anyone else have experience with solera awnings? Etrailer sells them for just shy of 1500 for a 19' powered awning and curious of it is way lower grade or not.

[Cate&Rob]

Hi wstcoaster07 - Per our discussion on the other thread, I would use some type of "wing back" wall anchor to spread the load if there is no wall stud of metal mesh behind the wall surface luan ply. See attached.

We have a Solera OEM awning on our 2015 Reflection. After four seasons, the fabric is getting a little weathered, but the mechanisms have been fine. I did have to replace some hinge pins with better stainless steel bolts and nuts.

Rob

[D2Reid]

My awning repairs was not quite that extreme, I used Marine 5200. Others have stated that using Molly Screws or Oscar Rivets was a preferred way of making the repair. Unfortunately, there is a lot of weight sitting on fasteners that go through a little fiberglass and wall board. Time will tell if my repair is effective.

[wstcoaster07]

Hi wstcoaster07 - Per our discussion on the other thread, I would use some type of "wing back" wall anchor to spread the load if there is no wall stud of metal mesh behind the wall surface luan ply. See attached.

We have a Solera OEM awning on our 2015 Reflection. After four seasons, the fabric is getting a little weathered, but the mechanisms have been fine. I did have to replace some hinge pins with better stainless steel bolts and nuts.

Rob

Yeah thanks for the pics I don't think I processed the wall anchor idea till now. I also liked the idea of the anchor for bolts instead.

Still waiting on one more call but looks like the awning setup is going to run over 2k for the dometic so I think I'm going to go with solera. Starting to think I should have just made the insurance claim and gotten everything done at a dealer but we will see. Didn't want to make a 2000$ claim and watch my insurance rocket. Clean history and wanted to keep it that way.

[wstcoaster07]

My awning repairs was not quite that extreme, I used Marine 5200. Others have stated that using Molly Screws or Oscar Rivets was a preferred way of making the repair. Unfortunately, there is a lot of weight sitting on fasteners that go through a little fiberglass and wall board. Time will tell if my repair is effective.

Yeah I think I'll also use the winged backing with my already complete fiberglass repair and that should be enough.